Obituary for James C. Russell

James C. Russell (Jim), aged 82, of Hollywood, California, died on 17 September 2013, at his assisted living home in Eagle Rock, California. He was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1931, to Allen Cunningham Russell and Gwendolyn Romaine Leber Russell, the second of eight children. He was a graduate of the University of Maryland and George Washington University. He is survived by his daughter, Kelly L.C. Russell of Pasadena, California and her husband Timothy Down; his son, Kenneth A.C. Russell of Portland, Oregon; and two grandsons, Russell Burton and Colin Burton; and also siblings Don Russell of New Castle, Indiana; Anita Russell Mower of Escondido, California; Esther Russell Hicks of Grand Junction, Colorado; Timothy Russell of San Diego, California; and Jonathan Russell of Fort Worth, Texas. He also leaves behind numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his siblings Allen Russell of Coral Gables, Florida; and Gwendolyn Russell Hicks of Parachute, Colorado.

During a long and varied working life, Jim shucked shrimp in a restaurant kitchen (and never ate shrimp again), and he was a teacher at Massenutten Military Academy and at LeConte Junior High School in Hollywood. He served in both the US Air Force during the Korean Conflict and the US Navy during the Vietnam Conflict. He spent many years as a teacher and guidance counselor with the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) in Europe and in Korea, and he also held several positions in public affairs and in Army recruiting. A passionate Anglophile, he was fortunate enough to witness the procession for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. He was also in Berlin at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and he brought home a piece of it.

A life-long sports enthusiast, Jim enjoyed tennis, Washington Redskins football and Dodger baseball. He examined life with a writer’s mind, posting literary e-mails to nurture and entertain family and friends with an acerbic wit, always catching life in a humorous cross-hairs.

A funeral will be held at Church of the Angels, 1100 N. Ave 64, Pasadena, California, on Sunday, September 22 at 2:00 pm. A reception in the Parish Hall will follow.